Lawmakers back legal challenge to prevent Trump’s roll back of methane rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of 51 U.S. lawmakers, led by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), filed an amicus brief today in support of a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's decision to roll back a key Obama-era air-quality rule that limited the amount of methane that oil and gas producers can release into the atmosphere.

The brief, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenges the U.S. Department of Interior's decision in 2018 to revise a 2016 Bureau of Land Management rule, known as the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule. That rule, which was put in place by the Obama administration, put strict limits on the amount of methane gas that oil and gas producers operating on federal or tribal lands can release into the atmosphere by either leaking, venting or flaring it during production.

The lawmakers argue that the Interior Department's move to eliminate the 2016 rule violates the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, which requires the federal government to prevent unnecessary waste of oil and gas resources on federal and tribal lands. The lawmakers claim by rolling back the Obama-era rule, and once again allowing oil and gas producers to release unlimited amounts of methane gas into the atmosphere, the Trump administration is authorizing these companies to waste a precious oil and gas resource on federal and tribal lands, which is prohibited under federal law.

"In rolling back this important rule, the Trump administration is threatening to do real harm to our environment," DeGette said. "Methane is an extremely powerful greenhouse gas and one of the leading contributors to global warming. If we're going to be serious about fixing the climate crisis, we have to be serious about curbing the release of methane gas into our atmosphere."

DeGette, who wants oil and gas producers to capture methane gas extracted from federal and tribal lands, instead of releasing or flaring it, filed legislation in May to reinstate and enhance the Bureau of Land Management's 2016 rule. The legislation would require all oil and gas companies operating on federal and tribal lands to capture 99% of all gas it produces within five years.

Oil and gas companies on public and tribal lands waste approximately $330 million of natural gas every year. If captured, that gas could be used to heat millions of homes across the country. Instead, when it's released, it's known to exacerbate the ongoing climate crisis.

Methane released by the oil and gas industry is often accompanied by other pollutants, such as VOCs, that can contribute to smog, as well as other air toxins that have been linked to several serious public health problems, including reduced lung function, asthma, respiratory and cardiovascular causes and even cancer.

A copy of the full amicus brief can be found HERE.

More information on DeGette's legislation to reinstate the 2016 Methane Waste Rule is available here.